Zé da Mouraria — Restaurant in Lisbon

I can't talk about the food because I never got to try it, but I can talk about my experience trying to eat here. When I arrived the place was super crowded, there were people waiting outside, this was a Friday at 3pm. I told the waiter that I needed a table for 2 and he proceeded to write my name on a list and told me to wait outside and that they will call me when they had my table. So I waited outside for about 20 min and they start calling people that were before me on the list until it was just me and another 2 person party. I waited for about 10 more minutes and a Chinese couple stood behind me in front of the door so I told them to go to the waiter so he would write their name on the list, so they wouldn't wait in vain outside. To my surprise they entered the restaurant and where seated immediately, so I went inside and told the waiter that I was on the list and that I should be seated first he told me I can get you a table but I have to clean it, I said ok, but he proceeded to give menus to the Chinese couple, bring a beer to another table and attend to other people while I waited. Finally I seat down, he sets the table and instead of giving a menu and taking my order he proceeds to attend to other tables. I call his attention and he says just a minute and continues doing other stuff, to his defense he was the only one attending customers but still I should have had a table and a menu in my hands long time ago. There was another lady that came out but went directly to where the Chinese were seated and didn't look serve anybody else, meanwhile a couple of guys who are regulars there and arrived after me got their meals in a few minutes. Anyway I got tired of waiting and the bad service and left without saying anything. Maybe the food is good but not worth it to beg for food no matter...

The food (we had the codfish) was good but not great nor memorable. Codfish dish price as of late September 2022 is 32.50€. Waiter didn't greet us, just showed us to our table and gave us the menus. The portion is ridiculous, far too much for two so food got wasted and we are good eaters! I would have expected them to offer a half a dose/portion as is customary in many restaurants in Portugal, instead of serving 2 people a plate of food suitable for 3 or even 4 people, charging 32.50€ for it and having a lot of it wasted. I heard the waiter tell the table next to us that all the dishes were "enough for two people". Then later noticed another table where the couple had ordered 2 different dishes and their portions were about half what we got. So to me it looked like you could actually order half a portion, they just don't tell you that so you'll order the giant 32.50€ plate. Be aware that bread and cheese put on your table when you arrive are not free, you will be charged for them. I knew of this practice so asked the waiter to take it back. The place was cramped, I could barely get out of my chair and all through dinner people either bumped into me or asked me to move my chair inside the table so they could go to the bathroom. With about 40 people in the small dining area, the noise was unbearable and we couldn't wait to get out of there. I would not return...

We were a party of four. We ordered cod and sea brim fish, each for two. Cod was listed at 35 Euro and sea brim wasn’t listed so we assumed that the price would be around $35 at the category “fish of a day”. Cod was swimming in oil and covered with a tone of potatos and peas. No taste other than of salt. On the other hand sea brim was better than cod but also swam in oil. We had 4 beers and a starter of bread, olives and cheese which we didn’t ask for nor were asked if we wanted it. The waitress just damped the starter on the table. When finished this mediocre lunch we were shocked with price of sea brim at 62.50 Euro. Sick!🤢 this insane price was obviously not mentioned at the start of lunch or we’d have left. This is a scam. Don’t go to Ze restaurant. Or demand the prices up front and in writing. We saw another complaint about Ze da Mouraria when they charged 72 euros for the fish of day. These Fishy practices should be known to all visitors. In the attached copy of the bill you can see handwritten Dorada. Of course a mixup of the waitress. Regardless, no fish of a day can cost $62 Euros when every other fish is at 35 euros. The waitress tried to scam us on couple of water bottles too but we didn’t drink any so she had removed it, but apology. The city of Lisbon should do a better job controlling fishy scams on tourists like that of Ze...